Page 45 of Final Temptation
“Put it on my father’s tab, if you don’t mind.” I smirked at my best friend, hopped off the barstool, and made my way to the back office.
Some days, I missed working at the bar. I loved how lively it was at night when the country bands played on stage, and the dance floor was filled with everyone in town. I knew each person’s name who sat at that bar, and what they drank. It was easy. Nothing about this job was difficult; it was a good time, and you could make loads of money. But being a bartender the rest of my life sounded exhausting. And taking over the operations of the entire place one day? No, thank you. I wanted to create an entirely new vision for my life.
Sophie, your go-to gal for planning special events in Alpine Peak. It has a nice ring to it.
That was exactly what I was going to talk to my dad about today. I puffed my chest with the chill of liquid courage running through my veins and knocked on his office door, cracking it open at the same time.
“Hey, Soph. It’s good to see you.” He stood, pulling me in for a side hug. “Take a seat. Do you want me to have the guys cook up something for you to eat?”
I sat on the other side of his desk, feeling incrediblyawkward like I was about to be scolded in the principal’s office for smoking pot on campus between classes.
“No, Dad, I’m good, thanks. Just wanted to chat with you before we all took off for Vegas tomorrow.” I nervously twirled my hair around my finger.
There was an awkward silence floating in the air, both of us seemingly unsure who should start talking first.
I took the leap.
“I hate fighting with you, Dad.” I sighed.
“I don’t like it either, Soph.” He sat across from me, arms crossed, giving me his full attention.
“It’s been you and me for as long as I can remember. I hate this.” The words felt lodged in my throat. I didn’t expect to get choked up, but from the day I was born, I was always a daddy’s girl, and the strain that’s been put between us lately had been eating me up more than I thought. Especially now that I had to face him in person.
“You’re right, honey. It has. That’s the biggest reason I wanted you to take over this place one day. I invested in this bar so long ago, that way I could create a future for you. It was always for you.”
Why does this feel like a guilt trip?
“I appreciate that, Dad, I really do. I’ve had so many good memories in this place growing up. When I was a kid, I remember dancing on the stage, playing the air guitar, and pretending I was the star of the show. I’ve had countless meals here, and the people who you hired to work here all those years ago, they’ve become our family. I’ve made a living for myself working here and met the best friend I’ve ever had working behind that bar. But it’s never felt like my forever.” I released a deep breath; a sliver of the heaviness I’d been carrying falling off my shoulders.
“I can understand that. To be frank, I never saw myself owning and running a bar either…” he admitted.
The irony though... It piqued my interest.
“Then why am I the bad guy in this scenario, when it sounds like you should be able to relate?” My eyebrows rose.
He let out a deep breath, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. “There is a lot you don’t know, Soph.”
“Okay…then start from the beginning?” My legs crossed, waiting for him to elaborate.
“It’s all I have left of your mom.” He let out a pent-up breath.
We rarely talked about her, so hearing him mention her made my heart sting for him. I didn’t have the same attachments to her as he did.
“Everything I’d told you growing up was the truth. Shortly after we decided to buy this bar, throwing all our money into it, she left us for someone else. To chase a life she felt she couldn’t get here. A wild life without responsibilities.” His head fell into his hands as he dragged his fingers through his hair, obviously stressed out by a past he lived through, and I had no recollection of.
“So…what are the parts you’ve left out? What don’t I know?” I asked.
“She left us for someone who was very close to me. To us.” By the way he struggled to get the words out, it seemed he hadn’t spent much time talking about this.
“Your mom ran off with my brother.” My eyes widened.
“You have a brother? I have an uncle?” Growing up, it was just me and Dad. No cousins, no grandparents,no one.
“We hired him as a contractor to work on the bar before we opened. Your mom oversaw a lot of the operations. Shealways struggled being a parent. So, I spent more time at home with you when we weren’t here, and she spent her time away from us, fixing up the bar. One night, she hadn’t come home. I was worried. I hopped in the car, bringing you with me, and came here to look for her after my phone calls went unanswered. There was a note on the bar top when I got here. All it said was, “Sorry, Chris. We can’t do this anymore.” It was vague as hell and took me a couple days to figure out who ‘we’was. When I also couldn’t get a hold of my brother, it hit me in the face like a freight train.”
I was at a loss for words. All this time, I thought my mom left us for an addiction. She was working the corners in downtown Denver for all I knew, but I didn’t care. I was so used to a life without her that I was numb to it. Growing up, I never had a mother figure, but Dad did such an amazing job when it came to me wanting to be a girly girl; I never wondered what life would be like otherwise.
Sure, I always questioned what it would be like to have a mom, especially when all my friends had one growing up. But I loved life with Dad.
